The public has the right to see documents and transcripts relating to the secret guilty plea of a Tijuana drug kingpin, despite what prosecutors say, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.

The ruling came in one of two cases in which The Copley Press Inc., publisher of The San Diego Union-Tribune, is working to gain access to information about secret guilty pleas.

Criminals typically plead guilty in open court, but that didn't happen in at least two cases last year, one involving the Arellano Félix cartel and another involving the Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery scandal.

Prosecutors fought to keep details of those guilty pleas secret even after the San Diego federal judge in both cases, Larry A. Burns, ordered their release to the public.

Yesterday's decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco backed Burns on most of the issues surrounding the cartel case.

The appeals court has not ruled on the other case, involving New York businessman Thomas Kontogiannis. He pleaded guilty to money laundering and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The court heard arguments from government lawyers behind closed doors and from the newspaper's lawyer in public.

Federal prosecutors wouldn't comment on yesterday's decision in the cartel case. It's not known whether they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or when the documents and transcripts will be made public.

“The decision shows that the 9th Circuit is serious about enforcing the very strong First Amendment rights to records in court cases,” said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition, which is funded by media companies, including Copley.

The case involves Ismael Higuera Guerrero, who pleaded guilty a year ago to racketeering and other charges. He admitted that, as the cartel's day-to-day boss for several years, he bribed, tortured and murdered on behalf of the organization. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison in December.

The guilty plea was kept secret for several weeks, as prosecutors argued that letting the public know would risk his life and those of others.

After their safety was assured, Judge Burns ordered the release of a transcript of most of his plea proceedings, plus the written agreement Higuera reached with prosecutors.

Burns said part of the plea deal, in which Higuera agreed to cooperate with investigators, could remain secret – “under seal” in legal terms.

Then, in May, at the request of Guylyn Cummins, a lawyer for The Copley Press, Burns unsealed that and other documents – including the prosecutors' motion for secrecy, saying that doing so no longer threatened “the safety of witnesses.”

He kept secret, however, information that could identify “endangered people.”

Federal prosecutors appealed his decision, which led to yesterday's ruling by 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. He ruled in favor of releasing most documents, but said Burns shouldn't have unsealed the evidence supporting secrecy motions. The motions themselves should be public, Kozinski said.